Catholic World News News Feature

Bishops press Israel on "fundamental accord" January 13, 2005

European and American bishops are pressing for the full implementation of the "fundamental accord" governing relations between the Holy See and the government of Israel.

Speaking at the conclusion of a visit to the Holy Land, a group of 8 Western bishops issued a statement on January 13 underlining the importance of the Vatican-Israel accord, as well as a similar pact between the Holy See and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. The bishops called for "their total application, without delay."

Vatican officials have frequently expressed exasperation about the slow progress toward full implementation of the "fundamental accord" with Israel, which was originally signed in 1993. The terms of that accord stipulated that the two parties would sign further agreements to establish the juridical and economic rights of the Church in Israel. But negotiation on those pacts has proceeded very slowly, with Israeli representatives breaking off the talks, without explanation, on more than one occasion. The next round of negotiations is scheduled to begin in Jerusalem this week.

A similar "fundamental accord" with the Palestinian Authority, signed in 2000, is also the subject of some tension. The agreement promises religious freedom and legal equality for all believers under Palestinian rule. But a proposed Palestinian constitution declares Islam as the official religion of the state, raising questions about the civil rights of the Christian minority.

During four days in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Galilee, the visiting bishops said that they had arrived in the Holy Land at a crucial time, when the prospects for progress toward a peace settlement appear better than they have been in several years. In their final statement, they applauded all those involved in the peace process, and voiced their hope that Israelis and Palestinians could live "with dignity, in two states, in security and equity."

During their stay in the Holy Land, the bishops met with Israeli President Moshe Katzav and the newly elected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Archbishop Andre Lacrampe of Besancon, France, said that the visit had also allowed the prelates to "become more directly informed about the evolution of the political and economic situation for Christians." In their final joint statement, the visiting bishops promised to pass along their newfound understanding of the situation to Christians and political leaders in their own countries.

The eight visiting bishops-- known as the "coordinating committee" because their delegation was intended to represent the bishops' conferences of Europe and North America-- included the heads of the archdiocese of Liverpool (England); St. John's, Newfoundland (Canada); and Besancon; and the dioceses of Spokane (US), Urgell (Spain), Stockholm (Sweden), Lausanne (Switzerland), and Salzburg (Austria).